Mary Autumn Perkins ... ran local real estate firm: at 85

MILTON - Mary Autumn Perkins, 85, died peacefully and pain free on May 13, 2023, surrounded by her family. Mary was born Dec. 11, 1937, in Rochester, to Audrey Y. Tanner and Henry N. Lawson. She was predeceased by her husband, Lloyd Perkins in 2002.
Mary's family made their home in Milton, where she grew up surrounded by loving aunts, uncles and cousins who helped her to overcome the early loss of her father at the tender age of 8. She often shared fond memories of accompanying her older cousins to the lake, dances and outings that filled her childhood with adventure.
Mary graduated from Nute High, class of 1955, and then from McIntosh College a few years later. It was there that she mastered the art of shorthand, a skill she loved to share with grandchildren in the form of Christmas lists when they were young.
After college Mary worked at Spaulding Fiber and during this time would meet the love of her life, the late Lloyd Perkins. They married in September of 1958 and welcomed two beautiful children into the home they built together on Elm St. in the years that followed.
Mary's favorite time of year was summertime, when school was out of session and she could spend her time with Molly, Patrick and their friends. She loved taking the kids bowling and on day trips to the ocean. She loved her children, she loved being a mom, and later in life she'd be ecstatic to take on the role of "Grammy Perkins."
Mary worked in many capacities over the years as an office administrator for local doctor's office and Cash Fuels. As the children grew she would take time to follow her love of real estate and pursue her license to sell. She was great at her job and after many successful years with Coldwell Real Estate, she would go on to open Perkins Real Estate, after becoming a licensed broker, something she was always very proud of. Her five grandchildren still remember drawing all over "Perkins Real Estate" letterhead when they were young.

After Molly and Pat were grown, Mary would take up and develop a deep passion for fabric and quilting. She loved collecting all patterns of fabric and grew quite a stockpile in her day. Each family member was gifted a beautiful handmade quilt, made with love in every stitch.
She loved traveling to Florida and was truly happiest when searching the beaches of Sanibel for the perfect sea shells. She could spend hours walking the beach waiting for the just the right tide to push in a new batch of treasures. With a shell in her hand and a smile on her face, she was always helping her kids and grandkids hold a shell to their ear to "hear the sound of the ocean" even when they were miles away from the seashore. Her home was beautifully decorated with shells and sea glass to help her feel like she was always on vacation in her own living room.

Mary loved the beach, taking vacations, she loved watching wildlife in her own backyard, and the apple trees that blossomed every spring. She enjoyed walking her land and cutting mayflowers with her kids and grandkids, watching birds at her feeders on the back porch and boy, did she love to sit on her "sun porch" and read. She loved getting lost in a good book, even if it meant staying up all night to finish it.

She always kept her family's favorite snacks and drinks stocked in the fridge for when they visited. That was Mary though, always caring for and thinking of anyone and everyone, before thinking of herself. She was a caregiver, she made you feel loved and like you were the most important person in the world, from the moment you walked through her front door, or from the minute she said "Hello?" On the other end of the phone. That love you felt from Mary would keep you going, even on the toughest of days. That feeling is what her family will miss the most.

Mary is survived by her daughter and son in-law, Molly and Gary Wilson, her son and his wife Patrick and Lisa Perkins, five grandchildren, whom she adored, Nicholas (Kelly) Perkins, Kristin (Chris) Ward, Caitlin Wilson, Corey (Deanna) Wilson and Emily Perkins, and the newest apple of her eye, great grandson, Mason Christopher Ward.